Gaming machines which provide awards to players in primary or base games are well known. These gaming machines generally require the player to place or make a wager to activate the primary or base game. In many of these gaming machines, the award is based on the player obtaining a winning symbol or winning symbol combination and on the amount of the wager (e.g., the higher the wager, the higher the award). Generally, symbols or symbol combinations which are less likely to occur result in higher awards. In such known gaming machines, the amount of the wager made on a play of the base game by the player can vary.
Gaming machines which provide cascading symbol games are also known. In one such cascading symbol game, a gaming machine generates and displays a plurality of symbols in a plurality of symbol positions. The gaming machine evaluates the displayed symbols and provides an award for each winning symbol combination formed, if any. The gaming machine then removes the displayed symbols that form the winning symbol combination(s), creating one or more empty symbol positions. The gaming machine shifts zero, one, or more of the remaining displayed symbols downward into zero, one, or more of the empty symbol positions. If any empty symbol positions remain after this downward shifting, the gaming machine generates and displays a symbol in each empty symbol position. The gaming machine reevaluates the displayed symbols and provides an award for any winning symbol combinations then-displayed. The gaming machine repeats the steps of removing generated symbols, shifting generated symbols, generating and displaying new symbols, and evaluating generated symbols, so long as winning symbol combinations continue to be formed.
There is a need to increase the excitement and entertainment experienced by people playing gaming machines. There is also a need for new ways of providing better gaming experiences and environments at gaming machines by enabling further player interaction with gaming machines during play. There is a further need for increasing the number of winning symbol combinations generated and the number and values of the awards provided to a player for a single wager on a play of a game.